Marco Philippe
Marco Philippe is a main character in, The Treaty. He is the eldest of the children (19yo) and is struggling with a transition from childhood to adulthood in an unfamiliar world. Backstory 2033 Marco is the son of Treaty leader, Joseph Philippe. With his mother, Tabita, he was smuggled out of Italy and to Antarctica soon after the bombings, mostly in order to escape conscription to the Italian army at the commencement of the war. He met the Beauregard family on-board Porter's ship, where Marco developed a close friendship with 15yo Elisa. Upon arrival at the Treaty, he also befriended Ben Hart, although he was a little skeptical of his bizarre behavior. Unbeknownst to all but Marco, his father with a terrible brute and beat his mother relentlessly all his life. Marco did not want to be trapped on an island with him, but wants to protect his mother, who was insistent on being reunited as a family. One day he breaks his mother's rib with a punch, and Marco decides to retaliate by plotting his father's death. During an unloading of supplies from Porter's ship over thin ice, Marco lets a large cargo load slip and crush his father, slamming him into the water. He was seen at the railings by Gary Hart, but the death was ruled an accident. In the book (2035) Marco is constantly trying to prove his manhood throughout the book, replacing his father is a leader-type and demanding greater responsibilities to serve his community. He is often turned down and forced to carry out more juvenile chores with the other kids. When he finally convinces Martin Beauregard to become part of his dig team, Marco messes up by striking into a gas bubble and causing a small cave-in. This pisses off Hawk immensely. From there on, Marco is constantly clashing with the other leaders of the town, who refuse to give him an opportunity to prove himself. He also clashes with Ben, growing sick of his 'act', until finally something snaps and Ben reveals to the town that it was Marco who killed Joseph Philippe. Marco then becomes the subject of the town's fascination as everyone begins discussing his punishment: banishment (death). Marco comes across Hart and sees he is leaving in the night to go rescue Hawk from Vostok. Desperate to make things right and prove himself, he begs to come along. Hart finally allows it, but the plan goes wrong and both end up prisoners of the Federation. They are tortured for a number of weeks, beaten and starved. Finally, Marco is forced to witness the execution of Hart by firing squad, and finally caves and tells the Russians the secret location of the Treaty. Sadly, he later finds out it was a farce, and Hart is unharmed. The two are taken back to McMurdo in vehicles and used as human shields as Rodion attempts to flush Hawk out. Marco witnesses Hart's death, unable to stop Rodion from shooting him. After the battle, Marco and Ben become much closer, and promise to look out for one another.